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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25724734">Biases and Assumptions</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGirlWhoWearsBlack/pseuds/TheGirlWhoWearsBlack'>TheGirlWhoWearsBlack</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Criminal Minds (US TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Agent As Unsub, Assumptions, Awkward Conversations, Biases, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Love Confessions, Lunch, Not What It Looks Like, One Shot, Secret Crush, Soft Spencer Reid, not really - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 11:29:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,509</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25724734</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGirlWhoWearsBlack/pseuds/TheGirlWhoWearsBlack</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Spencer trusts her enough to let his guard down during a dubious situation.<br/>But why?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Spencer Reid/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>45</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Biases and Assumptions</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Reid, do you copy?” Prentiss’ voice sounded over the earpiece.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Copy, I’m entering the son’s bedroom right now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The agent opened the door pushing it slightly with his left hand as he held his revolver on the right. Eyes peeled for whatever he could find inside the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A loud bang made him flinch. He had been working on the field too many years for him not to distinguish what a shot sounded like.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Prentiss?” He mumbled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No response.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Spencer’s heart raced; he could hear his own heart beating on his ears and the pressure of every thud in his chest. He was fully aware of what it meant for his teammate to not answer. Prentiss was gone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As much as he wanted to quit, he couldn’t. He was the last one remaining, the rest stopped answering a while ago.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He entered the bedroom. It only took him a couple of seconds to clear the space, causing him to sigh at the realization that the unsub wasn’t there, at the same time, he lowered his gun. Out of a mix of stress, anger and despair he clenched his jaw and cursed underneath his breath.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>How was it possible for him to be the sole member of the BAU who was still standing? What was he supposed to do next?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Spence?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A feminine voice filled the man’s ears making him turn around fast and aim his weapon toward the source of said voice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“YN?” He questioned adjusting his sight at the girl in front of him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was pointing her gun at him but lowered it once she saw him doing it first. YN was his teammate, there was no need for him to keep defensive.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But I thought-” He stuttered and scoffed. “You weren’t answering, I thought you were out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Luke and I were ambushed, I barely got out safely.” She explained taking small steps in his direction. “I didn’t want to risk it by talking, I figured it was safer that way.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Have you seen the rest?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nope, it’s just you and me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Spencer gulped hard when she said those words: </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘It’s just you and me’.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>It was no secret to anybody that he had a little crush on YN. He had been dealing with it ever since she stepped out of the elevator at the sixth floor at the FBI’s headquarters. He wasn’t sure exactly what was what she had that made him feel like he was walking on the moon every single time she talked to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>YN was not his ‘type’ at all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was fun, casual, and for the most part seemed to be chill about everything, however when she was on the field she transformed into a completely different person. YN was rough, young and not very academically inclined. Of course she was smart, every member of the BAU had to have some level of intelligence in order to belong to one of the finest units in the FBI, but YN’s intelligence was more of a tactical, strategy type instead of a fact spitting one, like his.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>YN was a ton of things but no damsel in distress.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Perhaps </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> was what he found attractive about her. She could fool anyone into believing she couldn’t even kill a fly but actually kick your ass when you least expect it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was also the mystery angle. No one in the team knew much about her other than she spent most of the past ten years undercover in different assignments around the world. Not even Penelope could find things about her past but the most basic stuff like school history and her parents’ names.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>YN took another step in Spencer's direction. She was now only a few inches away from him. His hazel eyes studied the woman’s face. There was a thin coat of sweat in her forehead, her lips were semi-parted as she breathed heavily. She seemed nervous and scared.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That look in YN’s face made him snap out of it. Now was not the time to detangle his feelings of attraction towards her. It was the time to find the unsub and finish the mission.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We need to get out of here.” Spencer finally spoke. “The unsub is still out there somewhere, if we don’t move we’re going to fail.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She nodded and stared at her feet. He leaned in to place his hand over her forearm trying to comfort her in the only way he dared to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What happened next he would’ve never expected;</span>
</p><p>
  <span>YN pulled his arm forward making him stumble in her direction, he lost balance momentarily. She took advantage of said confusion to take away his gun from the appendix-holster he was wearing and point it in his direction on a swift move.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her entire demeanor changed when she secured herself the high ground on the situation having unarmed her counterpart.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Spencer pressed his lips together as soon as he made sense of what was happening. She was betraying him. She probably was responsible for the rest of the team being down. Everyone trusted YN blindly and she had been working for the bad guys the entire time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She receded slowly and he lifted his hands in the air out of reflex.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“YN.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Spence.” She said with a mocking smirk owning her face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know, you’re not the first woman to point a gun at me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>YN tilted her head, raising an eyebrow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I know.” She assured him shrugging. “But I’m the only one who actually managed to shoot you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It took longer for Spencer to plan out something than YN to pull the trigger of his own gun in </span>
  <em>
    <span>his</span>
  </em>
  <span> direction. The bullet hit his chest, the impact of the shot pushed him back slightly. Spencer felt an overwhelming pain taking over his entire body. His ears rang from the loud sound of the gun being fired mixed with the siren of the simulator cabin announcing that the tactic training was over.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bum, ya dead.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>YN teased making a little dance celebrating her victory. She had a big smile owning her visage, proud of pulling off her own strategy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That wasn’t fair.” Reid complained as he took off his bulletproof vest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why not?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You were supposed to be part of our team.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Na-ah.” She shook her head handing him his gun. “That’s what you guys assumed, but I was assigned as the unsub all the way from the beginning.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, you are part of our team in real life, it was only logical that you would be too in the simulation.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not my fault that your biases and assumptions cost you your life.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Biases and assumptions?” Spencer questioned raising an eyebrow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just took advantage of the situation, alright?” YN answered brushing off Reid’s question. “Turned weaknesses into strengths.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two of them headed out of the cabin to meet the rest of the team. JJ, Prentiss, Rossi, Luke and Tara were already at the waiting room adjacent to the cabin, they stepped aside as soon as they got ‘killed’ during the simulation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was a good job, Agent YLN.” Prentiss congratulated the girl as she patted her back. “No wonder why you did great as an undercover agent, you tricked us all. We’ll need to work on that.” She then addressed the rest of the team.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They all chuckled trying to hide the fact that for the first time the entire team was beat at the simulator. It was a dirty move from the tactic simulator coordinator to put a team member as the bad guy, but the thing was, that on the field stuff like that could happen and everyone needed to be ready for whatever came their ways.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The team took off their gear and returned the special weapons used for the simulations before exiting the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Spencer had been awfully quiet ever since he ‘died’. YN noticed and lingered at the dressing room with him. Maybe he was upset about not being able to see through her façade. Maybe he was angry at her for lying to him. But she only lied because it was part of the assignment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It didn’t matter the reason, the point was that YN couldn’t take Reid’s cold shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wanna grab some lunch?” She asked looking in his direction. “I know cafeteria food is not your jam but, I don’t know, maybe I can make it up to you for killing you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reid scoffed and turned to face his colleague; she was already out of the tactical gear however she still had her black hair up in a high messy ponytail.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“YN, you don’t have to make up for killing me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, then just come grab lunch with me. No reason.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It took him a few moments to agree but eventually did. On the way to the building’s cafeteria the two chit-chatted about random stuff that came up. Both were really observant people, it partially came from the job, nonetheless, when they were together they used that ability to pass time and have fun.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>YN nor Spencer would consider each other to be friends. They didn’t hang out enough outside of work to call each other something more than a colleague; a colleague whom it was easy to get along with, laugh with, identify with…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The pair sat at one of the benches in the patio. It almost had the high school cafeteria vibe, but again, it kind of was, since the building was mainly the Bureau’s Academy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Spencer played with the plastic container in which his bagel was served, trying to come up with a way to bring up what YN had said at the simulator about turning weaknesses into strengths.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Did she mean </span>
  <em>
    <span>his</span>
  </em>
  <span> weaknesses or </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span> weaknesses? Did she know something she wasn’t supposed to know?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“YN.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?” She faced him, blowing the paper wrapping off the straw she had been toying with the last fifteen minutes. The wrapper hit Spencer’s face then fell into his bagel. “Oh sorry, I didn’t mean…” Her own laughter cut her off. “Sorry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Spencer shrugged his nose when he felt the contact at his face and opened his mouth when it then landed on his food. A grimace took over his face for a couple of seconds until he heard her laughing, he couldn’t help but join her with a soft chuckle and a grin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We can trade if you want.” YN offered. “We got the same thing, the only difference is that mine doesn’t have my straw’s trash.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s ok, really.” Reid answered, taking the piece of paper out of his lunch’s plastic container, using his thumb and index finger as tweezers. “Uhm, so, I was thinking about something you said earlier.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>YN raised her brows, curiosity sparked at her teammate’s words. She grabbed half of her bagel and took a bite waiting for Spencer to elaborate on his thought, yet he didn’t. He stared at her expectantly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“About?” the girl spurted covering her mouth with the palm of her hand trying to cover herself as she chewed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“About weaknesses turned into strengths. Biases and assumptions. What do you mean?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh, well…” She shrugged her shoulders and pressed her lips together in a fine line. “When people see me, they don’t see a threat.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We don’t because you are in our team…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t necessarily mean the BAU, Spencer.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>YN’s loud, sharp voice interrupted the guy which made him blink several times. He had only heard her talk like that whenever she had to deal with an unsub or any criminal for that matter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Spencer cleared his throat. His big genius brain was having a hard time figuring out exactly what YN was trying to tell him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m a girl, Spencer. I’m 5’4 and my face looks like the one of a 16 year old even though I’m over 30.” YN sighed and shook her head. “When people look at me they don’t see a threat. They think they can get away with anything they want to do with me or to me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He could tell that this was something she had been dealing with for a while now. She seemed tired of the subject.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Though she was right.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>YN’s face was sweet. It didn’t go according to her personality or her way of dressing, which consisted of almost black everything. She had big eyes, long lashes, and cheek dimples that showed even if she didn’t want to. In fact, they showed even more whenever she pursed her mouth or grimaced with annoyance, which rested to the effect of her being mad. No one could take YN’s angry face seriously due to the cute cheek dimples that adorned her visage. On top of that, she was in the shorter side of the spectrum.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He slowly began to understand what YN meant by turning weaknesses into strengths, about letting his biases and assumptions take over him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suddenly, Spencer felt embarrassed of even thinking about her taking advantage of </span>
  <em>
    <span>his</span>
  </em>
  <span> weaknesses. She probably didn’t even know about them in the first place, so how could she?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For the longest time, I was told that there was no way for me to get somewhere in the Bureau because of who I am. That no one would ever respect me.” YN recalled biting her bottom lip. “I tried to toughen up my appearance but it didn’t work, and honestly I got tired of trying. So I took my weakness and turned it into something that could potentially give me a win.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s why you’re great as an undercover agent.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No one suspects a thing from the young, sweet, innocent-looking girl.” YN chanted with sarcasm dripping her voice. “You’re lucky you were born privileged.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Spencer understood what she meant. YN didn’t have to elaborate further for him to comprehend why she thought he was privileged. For starters, he was a he, and white. Two things she was not.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He took half of his bagel so he could finally give it a bite, nonetheless he felt he was not going to be able to eat at peace if he didn’t talk further.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“YN, I’m sorry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For what?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The guy stopped himself as he realized that he was going to apologize for being born a white male. It didn’t make sense. It wasn’t his fault. But he was part of the society that made her feel like she wasn’t worthy of respect or a spot on top of the chain.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s alright, Reid. We were all raised in a society with sexist and racist bases that up until a few years ago began to move forward into a more open-minded perspective. Both you and me have these ideas engraved in our minds to the point that it is hard to see beyond.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>YN bit her bagel and stared at him as she chewed, waiting for him to answer. He didn’t. He didn’t know what to tell her. Once again, she was right. Even if he didn’t like to admit it, sometimes his own prejudices, and stereotypes clouded his judgment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The truth was, that when it came to YN there was more to her appearance for him to feel comfortable enough to lower his gun even if she had one pointed at him. But she couldn’t tell her. He wasn’t ready, and YN didn’t seem to be mindful of it. Not even a bit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry if I made you feel like you’re a total jackass or something.” She went on when the pause prolonged itself enough to make it feel a little awkward. “You aren’t. In fact, I think you are one of the less biased men I’ve ever met, you see beyond the surface. I believe that our children will do better.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Spencer let a small grin appear on his face. It relieved him that she didn’t think that he was a </span>
  <em>
    <span>total jackass</span>
  </em>
  <span> who was completely sexist.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wait.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Our children? YN said </span>
  <em>
    <span>our</span>
  </em>
  <span> children?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Our children?” He spurted when the phrase sank in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>YN got slightly flustered and a pinkish tone painted her cheeks. Her dimples showed as soon as she let the smallest of the smiles take over her face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Y’know, future generations and stuff.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, right.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two stared at each other’s eyes for a few seconds, until YN broke it up and focused on her half-eaten bagel only to take another bite. Spencer mimicked her actions. For a moment there, there wasn’t anything else but silence.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Spence.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why did you ask?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You said that when I mentioned weaknesses and strengths it got you thinking, why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Spencer tensed his jaw. He thought he was already out of the woods regarding the subject. He should’ve known better. YN was not the one to let anything slide. He had no choice but to tell her at that point, if he didn’t, she was going to nag him until she got what she wanted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought you meant using </span>
  <em>
    <span>my</span>
  </em>
  <span> weaknesses as </span>
  <em>
    <span>your</span>
  </em>
  <span> strengths.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>YN furrowed and then relaxed her semblance into an amusement grin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why? I mean, I don’t get how I would turn </span>
  <em>
    <span>your</span>
  </em>
  <span> weaknesses into </span>
  <em>
    <span>my</span>
  </em>
  <span> strengths.” She explained as if the situation was hilarious. “Spencer, I don’t even know if you have any weaknesses.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I do.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, like what?” She inquired with a brow raised.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The girl realized that Spencer wasn’t answering. Her first instinct was to reach for his hand, surprisingly, he didn’t pull away. He had never held hands with YN before, and know that he felt the close contact, the electricity it sent to his spine. It felt so right.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Spencer wondered why he never even dared to try.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can tell me.” YN added immediately.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her big eyes were even wider as she looked at him waiting for a response. YN let go of his hand and went back into eating her lunch. Spencer wanted to tell her but every time he tried to open up his mouth to reveal more, something pulled his lips shut.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please? I told you mine.” She teased making her brows dance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know YN, it’s a bit personal…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The guy deviated his sight from her. He couldn’t bring himself to look at her while she kept poking the subject. Spencer knew YN too well; she was not going to let go of the subject until she was satisfied. Seeing her face to face would only make it harder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He pretended that the side salad on the container was somehow more interesting than the conversation he was having with YN just to get an excuse to avoid looking into her eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mine were too and I told you anyway.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You wanted to.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But I-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine! You.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Spencer snapped at the same time his palm hit the table and his hazel eyes focused on her very confused visage. He swallowed hard when he realized what he had said, what he had done, what it meant for him to say those words at loud. To her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Me what?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re my weakness.” He whispered, once again not engaging eye contact with his counterpart.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>YN really did sound surprised and puzzled. She truly had no idea about how he felt. Even with the team teasing him constantly about her, she was still clueless.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Spencer.” She demanded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I let my guard down because I like you.” Spencer explained, finding strength within himself to actually meet her expectant eyes. “I thought you already figured it out and used it against me during the simulation so I could trust you.” The guy sighed and pressed his lips together before continuing: “Turned </span>
  <em>
    <span>my</span>
  </em>
  <span> weakness into </span>
  <em>
    <span>your</span>
  </em>
  <span> strength.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>YN stood still, analyzing her teammate’s facial expression, his corporal behavior, everything. She had lived too much, experienced too much to just believe in a man’s word. However the signs pointed that he was not lying.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Spencer Reid meant every word when he said that she, herself, YN was </span>
  <em>
    <span>his weakness</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She parted her lips trying to find the right words to answer to such a confession. Her heart was racing in the same fashion it did whenever she felt the adrenaline rush of being on the field. This was new. Never in her life had she gone speechless.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>To say that YN had not thought of Reid as something more than a colleague would be a fat lie. He was different from all the men she had met before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t want to make this awkward, so we can pretend that I never said anything…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.” YN cut him off and shook her head. “It’s ok. I understand. Honestly, had the roles been switched the other way, I too would’ve let my guard down on account of the fact that I also like you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A small grin appeared in YN’s face, enough for her cute cheek dimples to show as well. Spencer mirrored her actions.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For what?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It would’ve never crossed my mind that was the reason you trusted me.” YN explained, a quiet giggle followed after. “My biases and assumptions steered me in the wrong direction.”  </span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello!<br/>This is my first attempt writing a one shot, let me know what you think! </p><p>Requests are currently open. </p><p>Love, Andie.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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